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J. D. BOURNE.

Gate Fastening.

No. 61.800. Patented Feb. 5, 1867.

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JAINLES D; BOUR.NE, OF DE W'IT'T, 'IOWA.

Letters Patent No. 61,800, dated February 5, 1867.

IMPROVED GATE FASTENING.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JAMES D. Bounnabf De Witt, in the county of Clinton, and State of Iowa, have invented a new and improved Gate Fastening; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, whichwill enable others skilled in'the art to make and rise the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gate with my fastening applied to it.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Similar-letters of reference indicate like parts. 7

The object of my invention is to provide a fastening for a gate, which can be readily operated so as to free the gate, by a person either walking or riding on horseback, and which, when performing its function as a fastener,lwill hold the gate secure against its being opened by any kind of cattleor stock, 'or by the action of the wind. My invention consists in the combination, with a' gate and front post, of a swinging'arm secured to the post in such manner, that, when it is in a vertical position, thc'gate will be securely fastened, but which may be swung outward so as to liberate the gate, as will be presently described.

A A designate the rails of the gate, which rails are secured together by battens, a a, and diagonal strips,'b. B is the rear post, to which the gate'is hinged in any suitable manner. 0 is the front post; this has a portion of its face cut out so as to allow the extended ends 0 c of the-rails to sink in it below its surface; (In the shoulder at each end of the recess, a mortise, d d, is out, (see fig. 2,) and pivoted in the upper mortise'd there is one end of a swinging arm, D, which is arranged so that its lower end will glide into the mortise d, at the bottom of the recess in the post. This arm, a s-can be clearly seen in fig. 2, slides outside the extended ends 0 c of the panels A of the gate, and therefore when the lower end of the swinging arm is inthe mortise d, it will be impossible to open the gate, it being necessary in order to openthe gate to swing the arm 1) outward till it passes beyond a hevelled-ofi corner of the upper rail, (as shown at fig. l at n,) when the gate may be readily opened. A spring, E, is secured to the post 0, so that it will bear against the swinging arm with suflicient force to keep it from voluntarily swinging back when thrown outward. By this arrangement, a person on horseback may ride up and catch hold of a knob,f, secured to the swinging arm, and draw outward thesaid swinging arm, where it will remain till he opens the gate and passes through, when he may push it down again, and the gate will be fastened again securely. It will be observed that it will be impossible for the wind, unruly cattle, swine, horses, &c., to swing the arm D outward so as to open the gate; hence the fastening is secure. The arm can be as quickly and easily operated as the latches of ordinary gates.-

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a gate having elongated rails, c c, of the front post, and the swinging arm D, substantially as shown and described. I

2. I claim the combination of the spring E with the swinging arm 1), and post'C, substantially as shown and described.

JAMES D. BOURNE.

Witnesses:

D. WHITNEY, GEo. B. Youne. 

